A man shot in the lower back during a disturbance Nov. 8 on Courtney Cove Road appeared in felony bond hearings Monday on suspicion of residential burglary.

Pope County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Steven Pack testified a woman filed a report saying her ex-boyfriend Eddie Charles Johnson, 28, rang her doorbell, forced open her door and punched her multiple times in the face. The complainant said she was knocked to the ground and called for her caretaker. The caretaker chased Johnson out the door and watched him walk into the woods near the residence.

Pack said deputies were called back to the Courtney Cove Road residence on Nov. 8. The caretaker said he was walking a dog when Johnson jumped from the woods and struck the caretaker with a metal pipe, which was discovered later at the scene. When deputies arrived, they found the caretaker and Johnson fighting in the backyard. Deputies witnessed the caretaker hitting Johnson repeatedly in the face with a baton and broke up the fight, according to Pack’s testimony.

Johnson told deputies the caretaker had “beaten him up” and shot him in the lower back with a shotgun, Pack continued. After deputies observed injuries consistent with Johnson’s claim, he was treated at Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center and later interviewed by Pack. Pack said Johnson admitted to forcing his way into the house and hitting the woman several times in the face, though he did not remember how many times exactly.

District Court Judge Don Bourne ordered Johnson held in lieu of a $50,000 bond. If charged, Johnson will appear in circuit court Dec. 5.

Johnson was released from Saint Mary’s on Friday. No charges have been filed in regard to the shooting because it is still under investigation by the Pope County Sheriff’s Office. It is unknown if the caretaker is employed through an agency.